Spring-motor



H. e; ALLEN.

SPRiNG MOTOR. APPLICATION FI LE D MAY 31,. W19.

1,351,727; patiltedse nmszo.

H. G. ALLEN.

SPRING MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3|, 1919.

1,35 1,727, Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 7A 215.. j q

.L f g 1 I f; I! 62,

3 J jzo ,60 3a s/ 9 r if 65/ L5 49 i i a; 36, I 136 [oi/g6 v 50 Efl 20.'32 Z7 i x 26' 2c 6 36 if I 4112 29 i I 5 E lllll l 4 2 3 v 1 g f as 59i 1 1 473 26 2r 7 'Jwumkn mm 115L56 119mm HOWARD G. ALLEN, or ALBION,new YOR SEEING-MOTOR;

Lamaze."

ToaZZ- whom z't'maylc'oncem:

'I' Be it known thatT, Hownnn-iG ALnnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Albion,--.'in.the countyfof Orleans and State 55 of HowYork, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Spring-Motors,of which the-following is a specification.

Jlh object of this invention is to prov vide a new and improvedformofspring motor for use in toy vehicles and other 1118- chanical toys. VE

:xThis and-other objects of thisinvention will'be fully illustrated in'theidrawings, described. in the specification and pointed outintheclaimsat the end thereof.

5.: In 'the. accompanying drawings, 1

1 Figural is aperspective viewofthe toy vehicle in which the springmotors used as aameans for propelling it. I Fig. 2 is adetail perspectiveview of the governor mechanism for controlling the speed of the motor.Fig. 3 is a partial .side'elev'ation and cross section of amodifiedseries of spring units used for driving the motor.

Fig; 4 is a bottom plan view of the driving gear and ratchetmechanism"of the mot'on 11 I Fig. '5is apartial front elevation and sectionaltviewof the motor, the/motor being shownl'attachedto the frame of thetoyvehicle shown'in'Fig'. 1. w

, Figf6 is a partialtop plan View and horizontal section of the. motor.andisupport .1 5 therefor. v

In theseveral figures of the drawings,

' like reference numerals indicate like parts;

The motor as'shownin the accompanying drawlngs 1s so constructed that itcan be .40 rigidly'mounted on the stationary axle of the vehicle andsupported thereby. The

casing of themotor, in turnyis used to sup- .por't theufram'e .of-jthevehicle on'the'axle but is mounted to turnin the frame so that '45 theaxle with the motor may be set at any angle to the: vehicle frame.

"-Whilebut one form of toy vehicle truck) is shown in Fig. 1,- it isapparent that the motor may be used for furnishing the 5'0 necessarymotive-power for any other form of mechanical toy. The motor'compri'sesa series of'spiral springs -1, 2 and 3 which are connected in serieswith one another.

Application filed May 31, 1919.. SerialNo. 300,980.

12 'and1casing9 bei is adapted 0 hold thejpawl 22 vided for the drivingEach of these.

springsjis fastenedwith one end to a col lar or sleeve 'and to a casingwith. the other end.

connected as followszfi .Thespring LissurrOundedby the'casing 4t towhich the outerend .of the springis fastened at 5. The inner end of-thespring The series of: springs shown in Fig. 5 'are Specification ofLetters Patent. P t t d.se tflfllggo;

1 is fastened to the sleeve fiat 7. The sleeve i1 63in turn, isniountedto turn idly on the vertical power shaft 7 AfiangeS-"is providedon the sleeve 6 to which '-is riveted or otherwise suitably fastened the--second case ing 9 as 'sho'wnat 10. In'the'second casing 9 isvcontained the spring 2 which is fastened thereto with, its outer. end at11,,yvhile the inner endo-fthe same spring is fastened to a secondcollar or sleeve 12 at 18,;the sleeve Y idly on-the vertical shaft 7 a aThe,sleeve;12'has a flange Wl'llCl1( lS"fEtS tened to athird casing 16at 17. This casing contains ;the spring 3 which is fastened 1 g m untedtg rotate thereto with itso'uter'end at 18,'theinner end of .the spring3 being fastened to the s1eeve19. r The sleeve 19 is keyed tothepowershaft I 74' and rotates therewith- Keyed to the? i I lowerend ofthe shaft 7 istheratchet 11:.-

wheel 20. A bevelgear 21 is'mounted to 170- Y tate idly on the hubof'the ratchet wheel 2Q and carries theratchet pawl 22 which-enfgages.the ratchet teeth on 'the'ratchet wheel 20. The spring 23.carried'onthe gear.,21-,'

ment with'the ratchet teeth.

. I The bevel gear 21 meshes with. the pinion 24 keyed to the drivingshaft 25," on either engageend of which a driving wheel 26 is mounted.I;

Also keyed to the shaft 25 is the -gear.-27, whichgear isfastenedtotheside. of the wheel 26byj meansof suitable-screwsx28 which.pass through .the side ofthe gear 27 into, the side of'the wheel 26.

The train of gearing so far desc-ribedris mountedon thestationaryihorizontal axle 29. This a'xlefis bent at four points toformthe three vertical members30,y31 and 32 thereon inw'hich. suitablebearings are pro;- shaft'25 to rotate therein. f. a

The casing 4: towhich theispring 'l ris fastened is. slightly largerin-diameter than the casings 9 and 16. The wall of the casing of it isrigidly fastened; As heretofore described, the springs are connected inseries,

the outer end of the spring 1 being held in 'place on the inside of thestationarycas ng 4, the inner end of this same spring being 7 7connected to the outer end'of the spring 2 V through the'casing 9. Theinner end of the spring 2, in turn, is connected tothe outer end of thespring 3 through the casing 16 7 and'thesprin'g 3 is fastened with theinner end thereof to the sleeve 19 keyed to the shaft'7 On the rotationof the shaft 7 by means of the winding key 33 the sleeve 19 rotateswithit and begins to coil up the spring 3.

The outer end ofthe spring 3- in turnrotates the casing 16' and coilsthe spring2 around the sleeve 12. The outer end of the sprlng 2 in turnrotates the casing 9 and with it the sleeve 6 until the spring 1 iswound up. In

doing'so; allof the springs 1, 2' and'3 are gradually wound up, theouter 1 end of the spring 1 beingh'eld stationary in the casing 4'unti1all of the springs are wound up and brought to the desired tension: 7 eV p 7 In turning the'shaft 7 the ratchet'wheel" 20 turns with it but is'preventedfrom turn- 1 ing in the opposite direction during j thewindingup of. the springs bythe pawl 22.

This pawl in turn is held from turning with.

' v the bevel 'gear 21-by holding the wheel'26 keyed to'the shaft- 25 toprevent its rotation.

- In winding up the springs 1,*2 and 3 by V i means of the-key 33, thefirst-spring is:con-

' nected with the-shaft and thereafterjeach spring in its turn winds upuntilits tension overcomes the force necessary towind up thefollowingspring until all of the springsare wound-.tot'he desiredtensionfl soon as the springs are 'released'they "begin to unwindinsuccession.

Spring 1 will unwind itself until its tension has decreased to a pointwhere the tension of the spring'2 is greater after which spring2 takesup the driving ofthe' shaft and rotates it until its tension hasdecreased so that spring 3 can pick up the driving of the shaft and 50begin unwindingit; The springs unwind successively in the foregoingmanner until the last of the springs has been unwound.

In order togovern the speediof jthe inotor 4 extendsdownover thecasings-9 and 16 to the stationary axle 29 to which the bottom swingthereon are .the' arms 37 and 38; each of whichcarries a weight or ball39 on the outer end thereof.' The arms 37 and 38 are angular inoutlinewith the weights 39 at one end of the angle and thepivot' pin 40 passingthrough near the middle of the legs ,of the angle.

The apex of each ofthe angular arms37 and 38 normally rests againsttheinnersi'de V 7 spring may be increased or decreased by the thumb nut43 against which the outerend of 01 the dished" disk 41. The tension ofthis I I the spring 42 rests; The thumb nut43is threaded on the shaft 35and may be screwed in or ,outjthereon. The dished disk 41rdtates withthe governor arms 37 andi'38 and is adapted to project into thedishedxsideof i a second disk 44 which is' heldistationary on thevertical member 30. The operation-of, f

the governor is-as follows:

1-1 h otation of the governor shaft by the gear 27 the centrifugal forcecreated therebyxthrows the governor balls 39: out-' disk 41 which inturn is forced-thereby 'wardly and, in doing so, forces the corner; 7 oftheangular arms 37 and 38'against -'the V against the stationary disk44. "The friction thus created between these disks operates to 1retard'the rotation of the governorf'shafty35 i and in turn the speed ofthe' whole motor. V By increasing or decreaslng the pressure exerted bythe spring 42 on the pivoted-goviernor arms37 and 38, which is done byscrewing the thumb nut43 inor out on the shaft135, thespeed'necessary tocreate the centrifugal force for throwing-out the gova ernor weights maybe varied. Thuswhen the tension of the spring isincreasedittakesa-higher speed to make the weights 391act so asto hold the rotating disk41'against the stationary disk 44 and the motor in'turn' is allowed torun 1 correspondingly fast: The V reverse is true when theftension: ofthe spring is decreased, 1n wh1ch.;case the-*go'v-L ernor is moresensitive and operates to :re-

tard the speed of the motor." H

ne'ction betweenthe-springs 1, 2 and 3 in i which but-two'casingsare-used. ."The casing 50 is held stationary on the shaft byth'e i axle29 while'the casing'51 rotates within this casing. Springl; has itsouter end fas tened to the outerwall I50 and itsinneriend Y.to'thesleeve 52. The sleeve ;52-.-isima de ,long'f enough to projectinto the casing'51 and has the inner end of the spring-2 fastened thereto. The oouter end of the spring '2' iirturn is fastened to thewa'llgofthe casing -"which casing'has' also'the outer endof the spring 3fastened thereto.

The inner :end of the spring 3 is fastened to the collar 53ozwhich iskeyed to the power shaft. T While the manner of fastening the springs tothe casing is different-intheconstruction:

shown in Fig. 3, the operation remains the same as that described inconnection with Fig. 5.

The motor is held in place on the frame 60 a of the toy vehicle asfollows:

The casing 4 is passed through a suitable opening in the frame 1, whichframe comprises a horizontal board in this case. The bead 61 formed onthe casing 4 is adapted to rest against the under side of the frame asshown in Fig. 5. An auxiliary casing 62 is thenslipped over the casing 4on top of the frame 60 and is held suitably in place on the frame 60.The lower edge of the auxiliary casing 62' and the head 61 engage theedge of the opening in the frame and hold the motor in place therein.

The motor casing is normally prevented from turnin in the frame 60 bythe spring latch 68. his latch comprises a spring which is pivoted tothe underside of the frame 60 with a pair of pins 64 and 65 fastened tothe frame adapted to hold the latch in engagement with one of thegrooves in the rack 66. The rack 66 is provided on the periphery of thecasing 4, and the casing may be held at different angular positions inthe frame by turning the motor casing until the spring latch 63 engagesthe desired groove in the rack 66 and holds the casing in place in thatposition.

As previously described, the motor and the driving wheel are mounted onthe stationary axle and swing on the frame so that by turning the motorcasing in the frame the wheels are shifted and are made to run in adirection corresponding to the angle in which the motor casing is heldin the frame of the vehicle.

The driving wheels may be locked by means of a brake to prevent theirrotation.

This brake comprises the lever 70 which is pivoted on the shaft and ismounted to swing along side the vertical member of the stationary axle.The L-shaped arm 71,

carried on the lever 70, is adapted to embrace a portion of the uprightmember 30 at a point near where the stationary disk 44 is held in placethereon. In swinging the lever toward the outer end of the uprightmember 3O the out'er end of the arm 71' is forced'between the member 30and the disk 44 and slightly shifts the disk 44 against the disk 41 andin so doing prevents the rotation of the governor, which in turnprevents the rotation of the wholemotor.

I claim: 7

1. In a spring motor, the combination of a frame, a cylindrical housing.mounted to rotate in said frame, a series, of springs mounted in saidhousing, a power shaft driven by said springs, a stationary axle, saidcylindrical housing being mounted on said stationaryaxle, a drivingshaft mounted parallel to said stationary axle and carried thereby, andwheels mounted on said driving shaft, said driving shaft being geared tosaid power shaft and being driven thereby. 1

2. In a spring motor, the combination'of a frame, a stationary axle, acylindrical casing mounted on said axle and supporting said frame onsaid axle, a series of springs in said housing, a power shaft driven bysaid springs, a driving shaft mounted parallel to said axle, a train ofgears mounted on said power shaft and said driving shaft,

wheels carried on said driving shaft, and a governor driven by saiddriving shaft and operating to regulate the speed of said shaft.

3. In a spring motor, the combination of a stationary caslng, a powershaft mounted to rotate in said stationary casing, a second casingmounted to rotate on said power shaft within said stationary ca'sing,'acoil spring connecting saidshaft with said second casing, a second coilspring 'connecting said second casing with said first: casing, means tohold said shaft from turning in one direction on the manual turning ofsaid power shaft, a driving shaft, a pinion mounted on said drivingshaft, a bevel gear mounted on said power shaft, said bevel gearbeingadapted to mesh with said pinion on said driving shaft, av governordriven by said driving shaft, and wheels mounted oneach end of saiddriving shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HOWARD e. ALLEN.

